


Don't Fear The Reaper

by MonsterMania



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Also I know barely anything about Pokemon so forgive me, Complicated Relationships, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gift Fic, Human/Pokemon Relationship(s), I haven't written anything in five years so here we go, I hesitate to call this "Pokephilia" but in the tag it goes I guess, I just really love beauty/beast tropes okay, One-Sided Attraction, Pokephilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:48:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonsterMania/pseuds/MonsterMania
Summary: Dusknoir was having difficulty thinking straight.He seemed to be having difficulty with a lot of things lately. The main source of that being the small human currently curled up in his arms.
Relationships: Yonoir | Dusknoir/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 16





	Don't Fear The Reaper

**Author's Note:**

> First fic I've written in a long time thanks to some pushes from a friend. I actually did have a blast writing this and would love to try similar works in the future.

He supposed he should have seen it coming. It was his own fault, really it was. But that didn’t make him struggle any less as he fought against the Poké ball thrown at him only a moment before. 

So what if he had decided to spook the old man camped up in the forest, it was just supposed to be some harmless fun… more or less. The human had been quietly humming to himself, sat down on a withered stump as he mindlessly poked at the freshly placed log in a now steadily burning campfire. A calm serene was obvious on his face despite the dark and foreboding woods that surrounded him. 

An easy target. Or at least that’s what he had thought.

A building panic began to rise as each attack proved fruitless against the confined walls. 

**_One hit._ **

He had waited for the exact moment the human had been distracted, half turned and seated on his spot, rummaging through the bag by his side. He quickly and deliberately glided by the small opened can of food placed at the geezer’s boot, knocking it over in his passing and spreading its contents onto the dirt floor. The old man had jumped slightly at the sudden ting of the metal can, before turning back to look ruefully down at his dinner now decorating the ground. There was a beat, before the man’s eyes narrowed into one of incredulous suspicion. 

_ “Duskull…” _

**_Two hits._ **

He relished that look in the man’s eyes. That split second of realization, as that expression changed to… elation? 

Oh. Well, that was different. 

Where was the fear? The paranoia? Shouldn’t he be packing his bags in a hasty escape? 

Admittedly he might not be the most intimidating, but he knew most humans found his presence unsettling to say the least. He could still recall one afternoon when he startled someone so drastically, she had lost control of her bike and face planted directly into the nearest tree. His eye crinkled happily at the memory. Not to mention this human looked nothing short of a pushover. 

The tan uniform he wore did nothing to hide how gangly and small he was. His squinted beady eyes were unconcealed by the safari hat he adorned and just underneath lay a scruffy white mustache. Even in the darkness, the Duskull could see the wrinkled lines of age pull taught by the man’s gleeful expression. This one should be no different from any other human in his path. Perhaps he needed to try a little harder.

**Three hits.**

The man had crouched down to open the knapsack placed besides the stump. Although his back was turned, the Duskull took note of the items the man hastily tossed to the side as he quietly observed from behind one of the several surrounding oaks. A small journal undoubtedly packed with too many notes for its pages, a stack of letters tied with red ribbon, a rather worn Poké toy, a few scattered healing items… 

The man halted his rummaging before removing a leather pouch and hastily loosened the twine at the top of the bag. The Duskull leaned in slightly to peer at the item held between his bony fingers. 

He had plucked out a single pink berry, it was flower like, and also held a powerfully sweet aroma. It was irresistible in fact. So much so, that the Duskull couldn’t quite focus on much else but the overpoweringly delightful smell. His thoughts began to muddle over, his lone eye closed as he took in the intoxicating scent. 

What was he doing again? 

There was an explorer, here in the woods. However, that fact didn’t seem very important anymore, for some reason. As he slowly opened his eye, he came to realize the human no longer had his back turned but was instead facing towards him.

Eyes cast down.

_ L ooking at him _ . 

He had drifted out of hiding, left himself vulnerable, out in the open. Before he even had a moment to panic and vanish, there was the flash of a familiar red and white, and it was coming right for him. 

**Click.**

**…**

He floated endlessly in his newly isolated space. Eye staring up at nothing and everything, as despite the Poké ball’s apparent tiny size, the void that surrounded him seemed never ending. Everywhere he looked was a black empty expanse with the occasional wisp of color, seemingly created from nothing before it faded back into the blackness. He would have almost found it soothing, were it not for his rampant frustration at being caught in the first place. 

How long had he haunted those woods? He’s surely frightened too many humans to count. Yet he’d been captured so effortlessly. What was this feeling? Disappointment? Shame? Either way there was little he could do about it now, at least that’s what he kept telling himself. 

For a moment he caught the muffled bark of the older man’s laughter. He was likely conversing with another shopkeeper.

Again. 

The Duskull found his eye half lidding in sub-conscious annoyance at the sound. 

He hated it in here. 

And oh, he couldn’t wait for the moment that old fool let him out of this pit of a prison, he’ll have a lot more to worry about other than losing his dinner at that point. But with that thought came a sudden pang of worry, one that snapped his eye open and sent a chill settling deep into the marrow of his bony mask. 

What if…how long was he going to be in here exactly? It was a question he hadn’t really pondered on until that moment. Or maybe he had simply tried to ignore it. What if the man simply decided to leave him in here? For days. Months.  **Years** . A ghostly shiver ran up his non- existent spine. 

He really, really, hated it in here. 

…

By day three the boredom was akin to death itself. He had long passed the point of waiting for his release and had simply begun counting the color streaks that passed overhead. The old man’s voice, once a grating and painful reminder of his capture, was now his sole source of entertainment and he could just barely make out the upbeat hum of a familiar tune. 

As the Duskull counted the 2,793 rd wave of color, iris dull and glazed in agonizing disinterest, the man stopped humming rather suddenly, followed by a muffled but clear proclamation of, “Guess who’s home!” 

The noise that followed was unexpected and shot a wave of alertness through the Duskull’s body. He knew what that sound was, granted it was quickly drowned out by a flurry of voices in a throw of conversation. But he knew what a child’s shriek sounded like, he had scared so many children before. 

Despite being lost in his moment of reminiscing, he was quickly snapped back, going still at the clear string of words he made out. 

“Sweet-pea, I have a spooky little friend I’d like you to meet.”

* * *

“Guess who’s home!” 

Penny’s eyes shot open immediately. Smiling wide, she hurriedly clambered over the back end of the family couch, throwing the blankets in such a way that it nearly sent the family Herdier, that had been sleeping at her feet, sprawling onto the floor in her haste. However, the Pokémon managed to catch itself with a disgruntled puff, before turning to chase her towards the front of the house. 

“Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa!”

Penny raced through the kitchen and turned the corner, her fluffy socks nearly causing her to slip and fall onto the hardwood floor before she straightened up and made a Beedrill line straight into her Grandfather’s open arms. The old man let out a strained “oof” before kneeling to wrap his granddaughter up in a proper hug. 

“There’s my shiny Penny.” The old man took the hat from his head and placed it atop his granddaughter’s, giving it a decisive turn that tussled the young girl’s hair. 

Bending over to place his hands on his knees, the old man gave her an overly dramatic suspicious stare, “Now, did you behave for your mother while I was away?”

Penny opened up her mouth to answer but was quickly interrupted by the loud slam of the back-porch door closing. 

“Of course she didn’t, she’s your granddaughter.” 

Penny’s mother slowly removed her gardening gloves and sunhat, her brow caked with sweat and her cheek sporting a large dirt smear as a Whooper timidly followed in the door behind her. 

Penny gave a snort, “Well I’m your daughter, what does that make you mom?”

“The sane one.” She shot back, then tossed her gloves and hat onto the kitchen counter. Turning towards the stove she moved for the metal kettle on the back burner and pulled out an assortment of tea boxes from the cupboard. “Alright dad go ahead and kick off your boots, I’ll be in the living room in a minute.”

Meanwhile, the Whooper had silently made its way over to the now curled up Herdier under the kitchen table and was content to sit quietly against the back of the resting Pokémon. 

The old man pursed his lips in thought, a flash of nervousness crossed his eyes for a moment before puffing up and smiling decisively down at his granddaughter. 

“Actually, before we get too comfortable, why don’t we go ahead and hand out the presents?”

Penny clasped her hands excitedly under her chin, eyes going wide before turning to look cautiously over her shoulder at her mother, who had begun to busily scrub the dirt free from her forearms. She leaned in quietly, cupping her hands to her grandfathers’ ear before whispering, “Did you get me a Pokémon?”

Glancing past Penny, he eyed his daughter for a moment, even from the door he could see the stress under her eyes. He felt a pang in his chest, but brushed off the feeling before clearing his throat loud enough so that his daughter looked up from her spot at the sink. 

He squatted down directly in front of his granddaughter, who was resting her chin on her still clamped hands expectantly, and unable to hold in her excitement had begun to quickly march in place. 

Carefully removing his knapsack, he pulled out a single Poke’ Ball stored away in one of its pockets. 

“Sweet-pea, I have a spooky little friend I’d like you to meet.”

* * *

Dusknoir was having difficulty thinking straight. 

He seemed to be having difficulty with a lot of things lately. The main source of that being the small human currently curled up in his arms. 

He huffed in frustration, opting it would be a better option to continue silently gazing out the window at the setting sun, rather than look down. 

_ Rather than look at her.  _

If either of his hands were free, he would no doubt be tapping his fingers against the edge of the windowsill. He felt a nervous tick ebbing in the back of his mind, but simply chose to ignore it for the sake of not interrupting the girl’s sleep. As he watched the sky fading from the purple and pink hues to the now overtaking navy blue, he felt her turn, sleepily pulling the pink fuzzy blanket she had draped around her shoulders a little closer to her body while also tightening her grasp around one of his arms. 

Things over the years had become…complicated.

Penny had been gone for most of the day, helping her aging mother with her herb shop set up in the nearby town. She would have let him follow, had it not been for her mother’s continued insistence otherwise. She had gotten particularly upset after he accidently knocked some of the plants over due to his size. Not to mention his presence frightening a few of the customers' younger children to the point of tears on more than one occasion.

And it likely didn’t do him any favors after he had startled a younger man in the shop so badly, he crumpled to the floor in an attempt to escape after slamming his body full force into the “Please Pull to Open” door. 

He wasn’t allowed in the shop after that. 

Back at the house he had been momentarily content on simply petting the family’s Stoutland, which had chosen to rest in his arms for one of its several mid-day naps. His back was propped up against the front bedpost in Penny’s room and he occasionally glanced out the window to see if his trainer would soon return. 

The Pokémon he currently held, was nothing more than a lazy house pet at this point, but he didn’t mind that fact so much anymore. He’ll gladly take the peace compared to the early days of being rampantly chased around in circles by an energetic and overprotective Herdier. 

Although he knew he had more than a few one-ups against the mutt even as a Duskull. Not to mention the one time he had brought the Pokémon’s soul to the world of the spirits for a good scare after it had tried to get scrappy with him.

Not that anyone else knew about that of course. 

The Stoutland’s ears perked up, it’s closed eyes now wide and alert as it rather suddenly bolted from his arms. Its stubby legs moved in a flurry with the _skritch, skritch,_ _skritch_ of its nails echoing through the hall as it made its way for the door. Oh. Looks like she was home.

Before he had even contemplated getting up, Penny had kicked in the door rather dramatically with her boot. She was quickly followed in by the Stoutland at her heels before dropping each of the bags she held in her hands unceremoniously to the ground. Dusknoir’s socket squinted in a wince.

She looked terrible.

Walking into the room and shaking off a shoe with each step, she grumbled a half-hearted “hello”, as she made a direct path for the bed. Unfortunately the Stoutland had raced ahead and beat her to the punch, and rather assertively planted itself at the center of her covers. 

She stared down at the Stoutland blankly once she made it across the room. The two had their eyes locked for a moment in what Dusknoir could only call a standoff and for a split second he thought she would flip the mutt off the bed with the covers and a duel would surely break out. 

Instead she let out a defeated exhale before snatching up the pink rumpled blanket at the foot of the bed and instead made her way over to…well, him. 

She blinked at him tiredly and blew a stray strand of hair from her eyes, before turning herself around at his side and simply murmured, “Catch me, okay?” 

And now here he was. Currently holding his best friend asleep in his arms. The Stoutland now long gone from the room, so that he could have laid her down if he wanted too, but simply found that he’d much rather hold her instead…

Personally, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of this partnership between him and his “trainer” anymore. 

Where exactly had the change happened?

He could still recall that first day they met so long ago. 

Her grandfather had captured him just for her, a protector, a small unimpressive Duskull who frightened away the school bullies of a girl who was scarcely bigger than him at the time. He proudly remembered she hardly had much of a problem with them after he was around.

_ “There’s my shiny Penny.” _

His shiny Penny. 

That’s what her grandfather had always called her. 

He risked pulling his lone eye away from the darkening skyline to glance at her.  _ His shiny Penny _ . Her long copper hair was messily draped around her face, and in that second he felt a sudden compulsion to gently brush those locks away, before stomping it down and extinguishing the thought like a flame. 

_ Stop. _

Sweet Arceus these thoughts need to stop. 

He quickly turned back to face the window; a few scattered stars had already begun to appear. Despite desperately seeking distraction outside, he seemed unable to escape his pressing thoughts, and couldn’t help but think back again to another moment. 

_ That moment.  _

The one where she had blearily opened her eyes in the makeshift bed at the family home, her mother had placed a wet cloth to her forehead as a nurse and Chancey carefully bandaged her arm and pulled it into a sling. 

She had been attacked by a Shadow Pokémon, and he hadn’t been there to protect her, not at first anyway. Even then, when he was only a Dusclops, he could feel  _ something. _

An intuition that something was horribly, horribly wrong. And that she needed him.

__ He hadn’t hesitated. __

That split second where she had opened her eyes, beaten and bruised, despite her weariness he remembered that look of awe she gave when she could see he wasn’t a Dusclops anymore. Something inside him had changed when he stepped in front of her to face off with that Pokémon, a deep seeded urge to protect had boiled over as he grasped the reaper cloth firmly in one hand. In that moment he could feel every ounce of his anger, his determination, his…

He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, as if just finishing the thought would somehow warrant great consequence and it quickly brought him back to reality and out of the memory. 

No. Pokémon simply don’t feel that way about humans. End of story.

But. 

But then again, there was that time shortly after she had healed. A pleasant moment they shared on late summer afternoon under the shaded tree by the pond. He had found her there, her eyes closed and seated with her back at the base of the tree, arms up and folded behind her neck with her legs spread out into the grassy patch inches from the water line. Without opening her eyes, she patted to the dirt spot next to her.

“You can join me if you’d like?”

They had sat, or rather  _ she _ sat while he hovered there, silently for what was likely a few minutes but felt like hours to him. There was a nervousness in his gut he couldn’t quite place at the time despite the cozy nature of the area surrounding them. Sometimes he wished he could talk with her the way she did with him. Other times he found himself grateful he couldn’t. 

_ Because he might say something he would regret. _

She sat a little straighter for a moment, pulling her legs in crisscross, a look of contemplation was noticeable on her face before she spoke. 

“I’m really glad you’re here with me Dusknoir.”

It was such a simple statement, and yet something about the way she had said it had caught him off guard. 

She continued on, nervously bringing up her fingers to idly play with the marble necklace that hung loosely around her neck. “I’ll never forget that. What you did I mean.” She turned her head fully to look up at him. With her still seated, he dwarfed her more so than usual, and he had to crane his neck just to keep eye contact with her. 

“You’ve always been there to protect me. Huh big guy?” 

Slowly she reached up and grasped a finger on the hand dangling closest to her. “ _ I hope you know, I’m always going to love you... _

He could feel himself breakout in a cold sweat, his eye was burning brightly not unlike a blush (that thankfully he didn’t have). As his grip tightened on the sleeping girl subconsciously at the recollection. 

_ I’m overthinking things, humans say that to each other all the time, it’s not that important _ . 

Except there was something so warm, so genuine, filled with honest admiration that it really did give him pause. If there was something he was missing, did he honestly want to know? Or worse.

Is that something he wants? He had a feeling he did. 

He noticed her move again, this time more pronounced and she let out a strained grunt as she began to sit up and stretch out her arms.

Maybe.

Maybe he could ask her. 

* * *

Penny slowly peeked open an eye in the now dimly lit bedroom. Sheesh, she had only meant to take a quick nap, briefly she wondered why Dusknoir hadn’t simply decided to move her off and wake her. 

She let out a tired yawn, moving to push off the top half of the fuzzy blanket to stretch out her arms. Her back gave a few satisfying pops as she sat up. Lots of people enjoyed cuddling up with their Pokémon, granted usually those people usually had Eevee’s, or Vulpix, or well… usually they were holding the Pokémon and not the other way around. And while Dusknoir wasn’t exactly the fuzziest or warmest, she always felt safe around him. Knowing that no matter what, he’d do anything to protect her, and that fact made her sleep easy despite the slight uncomfortableness. 

Letting her arms fall to her sides with a sigh, she noticed Dusknoir was still staring outside the window. An impish smile crossed her lips, before lifting her hand to poke a finger to his chest. 

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Nothing. Not even an acknowledgement. He simply continued to stare seemingly at nothing as if he hadn’t even heard her. 

Was…was he mad at her? 

She absentmindedly began to toy with her necklace, tilting her neck to try and look at Dusknoir in his eye. 

He was clearly awake, even with his head turned away she could see the reflective red glow of his eye off the window. She fidgeted nervously for another moment before beginning to move as so to drop from his arms still supporting her, “Um, sorry for making you sit here for so long, I didn’t think I’d be asleep for uh… I’ll just go ahead and get up so you can move.” 

Before she could even fully shift her weight, she suddenly felt his arm pull up, effectively stopping her from going any further and blocking her from dropping her feet to the ground. Startled, she looked back up to Dusknoir with wide eyed in confusion, only to find he had turned his head now to look at her with an expression she had difficulty reading. 

Over the years she had learned how to decipher his emotions, she always found it amusing every time his upper brow furrowed in annoyance at the littlest inconveniences. She still smiled at the memory of his squinted eye staring judgmentally at her first burnt, hap-hazard, attempt to make Poffin bread. 

In the dim room his already glowing eye seemed intensified and its keen brightness was focused solely on her, for some reason it made her feel put on the spot, and she honestly had no idea what he was feeling right now. 

Clearly, he wanted her to stay, but something about him was…off. 

“Hey…you okay?” 

There was a pause, before he gave her a simple nod in return. 

“So, you’re not…upset with me or anything?”

A shake of the head, this time more intense than the last response.

She let out the breath of relief she didn’t know she had been holding before straightening herself up again. She leaned back pulling the blanket with her so that he could free one of his hands, although it seemed apparent he was still set on holding her in his other arm. 

She reached up and gave two quick pats on the front of his chest with her hand before looking back up to meet his gaze. “Alright then big guy, what’s on your mind?”

Dusknoir might not communicate with her vocally, but she knew he had his ways of getting across what it was he wanted to say. She just had to be patient. 

He flexed the fingers in his free hand, as if indecisive on what to do next, before slowly holding up his palm to face her. She looked at the open hand then back up to his eye and was met with a look she could only describe as… _expectant._ She hesitated for a moment, steeling herself as she turned her own hand over in her lap, and mirroring his own movements, carefully placed her own palm against his own. 

She would have laughed had it not been for the odd intensity of the current situation. She honestly could have placed both fists in his palm and he still could’ve closed his hand easily around both with room to spare. 

Instead, she just smiled softly and she found herself more relaxed than she had a moment before. Yet from the corner of her eye she could still see that same expression on his face.  _ Expectant.  _

Giving a sigh, she looked back up, more confident to meet his eye this time, “I’m gonna need you to clarify a little more for me.”

Finally, a change in his expression, one that she did recognize easily. Fear _.  _

_ Fear? Fear of what?  _

She didn’t have much time to dwell on it before he began to turn his palm so that her hand laid on top of his. He was looking away from her again, now staring attentively at the small hand in his own large one. His eye flickered briefly to her, before slowly guiding her hand towards him. 

She watched unblinking, as he carefully placed her palm to cup the side of his face. His own hand was still held over her own, but not strong enough so that she couldn’t pull away. He still wasn’t looking at her directly, although she did note the content look in his half-lidded eye. He continued to guide her hand down along his cheek before pausing to rest it directly centered underneath his socket.

The air suddenly felt very heavy, her mouth felt dry as she watched closely, overcome with the feeling that she should say something, but instead was dumbly frozen to the spot. Not a second later, he closed eye completely and she felt what could only be described a pleasant tingle dance across her knuckles as he turned her hand in his. 

That was the moment she ripped her hand away. 

The reaction was instantaneous. 

Dusknoir nearly dropped her completely in his attempt to make a break for it. She barely managed to get a foot on the ground before falling to catch herself against the bedpost Dusknoir had been leaning on by the window. The calm, peaceful expression he once held, was now overtaken by a wide-eyed look of panic and  _ regret, regret, regret.  _

She already knew what he was going to do. Could already she could see the telling signs of the purple portal slowly beginning to take shape in the corner of the room as the golden bands on his body began to take on a powerful glow.

Pulling herself up she rushed over and put herself between the nearly formed entrance and the Pokémon desperately trying to escape her. 

Keeping her stance wide she pressed both hands flat and firmly on his torso before looking up at his wild eye with a determined stare.

“Dusknoir, stop.” 

There was no shakiness in her voice, she had said it with such a firm finality that despite the Pokémon’s towering presence it actually gave him pause. 

Her expression softened considerably, “It’s okay, I promise. You just… startled me that’s all.”

He didn’t believe her, she could tell. 

The way he was still avoiding looking at her, and the rigidness in stance showed he was still on high alert, as if in search for an alternate escape. He wanted to run.

* * *

_ I shouldn’t have done that. _

Even with her now decisively telling him to stop, he still desperately wanted this moment to be over with and seek shelter within his own hidden world. Honestly, what reaction was he expecting to see? 

He… he wasn’t sure. It had been an act of impulse more than planning. 

_ Which is why he had tried so hard to ignore them in the first place.  _

But he knew in that moment she understood what he was trying to say. And despite himself preparing for whatever response she would have, without saying a word her reaction had still struck him like a slap to the face. 

_ I really shouldn’t have done that. _

“Dusknoir.”

He forced himself to look back at her, her arms still stretched up with her palms resting above the gold buttons on his chest. He wondered briefly if she could feel him shaking.

“Please don’t go.”

And just like that, with three simple words, he could already feel his resolve crumbling. The look in her eyes, which still held that warmth that he was so familiar with, had no traces of fear or disgust, only resolute concern. 

He let out what could only be described as a garbled cry caught in his chest, before bowing his head as the glowing bands on his body gradually began to dim. 

* * *

Penny didn’t remove her hands until she knew the portal behind her had disappeared back into nothingness. The golden bands now faded back to their original state, his gaze was cast down, his manner like that of a kicked Lillipup. He may have stopped trying to run, but he still seemed as if he was trying to hide away from her. 

Something about the sudden timidness of his nature struck her. Here was this massive, undoubtably powerful creature that could single-handedly inflict major damage and fear upon its rivals. 

And it was currently too shy to even meet her gaze. 

Her own thoughts were still desperately trying to catch up with her as she tried to process what exactly had just happened. She knew that Dusknoir wasn’t stupid, that there was a sophistication and intelligent nature about him, shared commonly with only a few select Pokémon. If there was something he wanted to say, he knew how to convey it to her. And judging by his reaction to her pulling away, there was no miscommunication on the message she received. 

She took note of the way both his hands were clamped firmly into fists by his sides. His red eye staring fiercely down to the lower corner of his socket. He looked as if he were waiting to be scolded. 

She let out a sigh before slowly reaching down to his left fist. Pulling up his arm, she gradually coaxed open his palm and placed one hand on top of his. Using her opposite hand, she carefully closed his fingers so that he now held her hand in his fist. 

He had stopped staring at the corner of the room and now watched her intently and she could feel her heart breaking at the expression he wore.

_ Remorse.  _

She closed her eyes momentarily, brow furrowed in concentrated thought as she contemplated her next move. 

Still holding his hand in hers, she began to gradually turn and back step to the spot they had been resting a moment before, guiding him back in a silent plea to follow. 

He didn’t put up any resistance. 

Once she felt her knees hit the edge of the bed, she sat down, hands still in his own as she gave a quick decisive nod down to the spot in front of her as a cue to “sit down”. He lowered himself considerably, body hunched and floating mere centimeters from the ground, yet even then her own head was barely level with “mouth” central on his body. 

She let a moment pass before beginning to rub circles into the top of his hand with her thumb in an attempt to soothe him, “Dusknoir, can I ask you something?’ 

There was that flicker of panic across his eye, before he took a breath that visibly made his chest contract before giving her a simple nod. 

“Good. Now tell me, do you think I’m a liar?”

Dusknoir visibly flinched at the question before rapidly shaking his head back and forth. 

“Do you trust me?”

A few nods this time.

She slowly began to pull her hands away from his, “So you’ll believe me when I tell you something, and say that it’s true, right?”

He was starting to catch on to the point she was making, and she tried not to let it sting too badly when he gave a much longer pause before responding this time. 

He was trying to shy away from her again, his face turned to avoid looking at her. Instead of saying anything, she reached up and lightly placed a hand on either side of his helm. Then calmly guiding his face down to her placed a gentle kiss over his brow. 

As she pulled back, and this time she really couldn’t help herself but let out a laugh. She didn’t think there was ever a time Dusknoir quite made the face he held now. Although she quickly stifled it before continuing, his face still held in her hands. 

“I don’t know if I can give you what you’re asking. But I meant it when I said I’m always going to love you big guy. No matter what. We’re partners, remember?”Dusknoir had honestly been contemplating if it was too late to escape to the world of the spirits, right up until he felt a feather light pressure placed mere inches above his eye. 

There was a moment of lag, as if the metaphorical Klinks functioning in his mind had stalled all together and he could do nothing but stare back stupidly in response at the action. 

That’s when he noticed Penny’s eyes began to crinkle at the edges as she let out a quiet laugh.

Oh. 

He supposed he was essentially gawking. He hadn’t realized how dramatically wide his socket had gotten until Penny had made a considerable effort to calm herself. 

Despite it, he found it didn’t bother him. He much preferred to see her happy. 

With hands still firmly holding his gaze forward. Her next words were soft but sure. 

“I don’t know if I can give you what you’re asking. But I meant it when I said I’m always going to love you big guy. No matter what. We’re partners, remember?” 

He pondered for a moment, letting her words sink in. 

Then mirroring her own actions, he leaned forward to place a quick mock kiss at the center of her own forehead, a sign of mutual understanding, and followed it up with a sure nod. 

Her smile widened, showing off the dimples in her cheeks before stretching out her arms and failing spectacularly to wrap them around his round body. 

“Good because I hope you know you’re stuck with me. Who else is going to scare all those mean bullies away?” 

He felt all the tension drain out of his body as he closed his socket and let his own arms wrap around her in return. 

His thoughts drifted back once more to the night he had been caught by that ridiculous old man. About how long he had spent in those haunted woods before he came. And what would’ve happened if he had never crossed paths with him at all. 

And in that moment, holding his trainer,  _ his partner, _ close to him. He wished he could thank him for the new life he had given him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you have any other ideas or suggestions for similar scenarios, I'm open to suggestions.


End file.
